A Painted Antique Desk Makes the Grade

Hello, friends! Today I'm revealing a project that I'm really excited about. It's a painted antique desk with some gorgeous details. It took lots of products to bring it to its full potential, and several days to complete, but here it is in all its glory.

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There are so many details on this piece. Somewhere, several decades ago, a talented carpenter spent many hours building it.

The full view of the painted desk, curvy legs and all. It's currently residing in my retail space, looking for a new home to live in. :)

The before shot. It has great bones, all the original hardware was here, and all the drawers are dove-tailed and work well, but it definitely needed a facelift.

A closeup of the center drawer after it got refreshed. The pulls got a slight facelift and the whole piece got a coat of paint. Then I dry brushed the drawers and body of the desk with a lighter color.

I highlighted some of the detailed areas and the hardware with metallic paint, applying it with my fingertips.

The top got completely refinished. It was sanded and stripped down to the bare wood, and then I applied stain and polyurethane over that.

The edge was a little more difficult to work on, but it was refinished as well.

Another closeup of some of the details.

A "before" shot of the top. You can see the reason why it needed refinishing! But I just couldn't bear to paint it once I saw the design in the wood.

The refinished top. Now you can see why I didn't paint it. It would be a crime to cover this up!

So what do you think? Did this painted antique desk make the grade? Or does it need to go back and get schooled?

Thanks, Shelley! New home, old home, apartment, whatever...it would happy to go home with you! It's for sale at $395, and my space is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Let me know if you have any other questions! Thanks for visiting. ~ Angie

Can you tell us what kind of paint you used and the method of applying it? Also, did you sand it at all; did you use chalk paint? I'm planning n doing 2 pcs. similar to this color and need a little advice!

I'm planning on doing 2 pcs. in similar color to the desk, so I have a few questions if you don't mind. Did you use chalk pain? If not, what kind of paint did you use? You don't have to tell the brand if you don't want. Did you sand it at all before painting? What method did you apply silver paint with (brush & what kind of bristles, etc.). I'd really appreciate your help because I can't afford to mess these pieces up!! Thx so much, your work is lovely on all your pieces!

Hi, Susan! I'm so glad you like the piece! I'm working on a post where I reveal all the products and procedures used on this project. I hope to have it posted in the next week. Hopefully you can wait that long for the details! Thanks so much for dropping by and taking the time to comment and ask specific questions! ~ Angie

This is a gorgeous piece! I have a very similar buffet that I got yesterday. Waiting for her to tell me what color she wants to be..I love how you left the top unpainted. Sure hope mine has this graining underneath the Yuk..

Thanks, Naomi! I hope your piece has nice wood detail as well! It's not too hard to refinish...just time consuming! Good luck with your project! And thanks for stopping by and leaving a oomment! ~ Angie

Angie, you did a fantastic job on this desk! I LOVE it very much. Actually a little jealous. I am your newest follower. I found you at North End Loft. Please head over to Cloches and Lavender and follow along. The projects will start soon enough, we are building a new home and I will be posting about it and then projects will follow. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Maryann! I'm so excited to get featured on your site! I love that you appreciate the "power of paint". There's nothing else like it to transform a space or a piece of furniture. Thanks again. ~ Angie

Welcome! I'm Angie and my hope is to inspire you by sharing beautiful places and spaces, good food and helpful hints. Click the photo to learn my story. Or contact me at angie@postcardsfromtheridge.com.